Soccer-India's Chhetri urges Tata Group to reverse Jamshedpur shutdown

Former India captain Sunil Chhetri has urged Tata Group to reverse its decision to shut down Jamshedpur FC, citing a major blow to Indian football.

Former India captain Sunil Chhetri has ​urged Tata Group to reverse ​its decision to shut down ‌Indian ​Super League club Jamshedpur FC, saying the conglomerate's exit from top-flight football would be a major blow ‌to the sport. Jamshedpur announced on Friday that they would withdraw from the ISL, which is yet to confirm a start date for the 2026-27 season ‌and remains without a broadcast partner. The league, now operating under a ‌club-led management model, has struggled to gain momentum, with India ranked 138th in the world.

"The League will have a team less, but the season will go on. However, not having ⁠the ​TATA group involved ⁠in the top tier of Indian football -- that would be a disaster with no alternative," ⁠Chhetri wrote on X. "I can only request and hope that the think tank at ​TATA picks their heart over head and reconsiders this call. It might ⁠be a poor business decision, but it will be the one Indian football needs the ⁠most ​at this hour."

Founded in 2017, Jamshedpur won the ISL League Winners' Shield in 2021-22 and reached the final of the domestic Super Cup ⁠last year. The ISL staged a shortened season last year after the All India ⁠Football Federation ⁠and Reliance Industries ended a 15-year commercial partnership amid a Supreme Court case over the implementation of a new ‌AIFF constitution.